Save Her
by LottyCharl
Summary: The Dr knows who, the eldest knows why, the strongest knows the rules, the kid, the baby and the intruder know the consequences.
1. chapter 1

Dr Spencer Reid looked up from his book to see an envelope being slid under the door. Cautiously he got up and opened his apartment door. No one. He bent down and picked up the envelope and began to open it.

Else where in DC Agent Hotchner answered the phone to a mysterious call.

David Rossi had a unexpected package delivered.

Jennifer Jareau hugged her 9 year old son who was crying into her shoulder.

Derek Morgan left the gym to find his car, tyres slashed with a note on the window.

Penelope Garcias computers were taken over.

Emily Prentiss was in a life threatening crash.

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Reid pulled out a note with a crossword attached. He unfolded the piece of paper and began to read " _her life is in danger call Hotch the crossword holds the key._ " What? He thought. He looked at the crossword there was one across and twelve downs.

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Hotch picked up his phone ,not recognising the caller ID. "Hotchner"

"Her life is in danger"

"Who is this"

"The Dr knows who, the eldest knows why, the strongest knows the rules, the kid, the baby and the intruder know the consequences." The phone went dead. He picked up his note book and wrote the strange conversation down.

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Rossi answered the door and took the package. Carefully he placed it on the kitchen counter and opened it. There was a plaque that stated _"Friends can be left behind but the best can not be forgotten"._ He looked at the adress on the box to make sure it was his and it was. He racked his brain, no one he was close to had died recently.

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"Mom" a hysterical Henry shouted as he ran back into the house. JJ scooped him up into a hug.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"A man came up to the fence and told me to tell you that if you disobeyed his rules you would die" JJ kissed the small boys cheek.

"I'm not going to die don't worry. I do need to ring Hotch so why don't you go and watch TV and I will stay here ok" the boy nodded and ran to the sofa and turned on the TV.

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"What the" exclamed Morgan as he left his gym. He walked over to his car, having already noticed the slashed tyres. The strong man looked around the empty parking lot and then his eyes fell onto the envelope that was tucked under the windscreen wipers. He opened it and pulled out a list. Rules he presumed. " _No one else other than the team, no media, no SWAT or she dies."_

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"What no no no." Shouted Garcia as she entered her lair to see her computers going crazy. " _Obey the rules or you all die"_ kept flashing up. "What rules!" She shouted at her babies before running into the bullpen.

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Emily Prentiss was on her way to the grocery store. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her left side as her car was spinning out of control. She tried to grab the steering wheel and steady her car but she blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily woke up to a banging headache she slowly moved her head to the side so she could see the ambulance and fire truck that were trying to get her out. "Try not to move your head" said a young women reaching in to place a C collar round her neck. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Emily Prentiss" the agent replied. "Can someone make a call for me" she said her voice barely audible. She wasn't surprised when no one heard her. A few minutes later she blacked out again.

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JJ went to pick up her phone to ring Hotch. As she picked it up Hotch rang her. "Hey Hotch I was just about to ring you"

"Can you come in now?" He asked cutting her off.

"Sure, is it ok if I bring Henry?"

"Of course just get in as soon as you can" Hotch turned the corner and pulled into his usual parking spot having rang everyone on the way in. Everyone was on their way in apart from Emily who hadn't answered her phone. Weird he thought as he walked through the doors and into the elevator. It didn't take long for everyone else to arrive. Once they were all sat in the conference room with various things infront of them that they had received in the past three hours. "Anyone heard from Prentiss?" He asked as he entered.

"No" everyone replied.

"Right let's try and work this out" said Hotch "I got a phone call that was some type of riddle" he said as he wrote what had been said to him on the whiteboard. "The Dr knows who, the eldest knows why, the strongest knows the rules, the kid, the baby and the intruder know the consequences."

"I'm the Dr, eldest is Rossi, strongest is Morgan but the last three don't make sense."

"Someone told Henry I was going to die" said JJ.

"So that's the kid" said Hotch writing their names next to the coded message.

"I call Garcia Baby girl" added Morgan. "So she must be baby. That leaves Em and intruder." He paused "This really makes no sense"

"Garcia check hospital records" said JJ getting a sudden feeling. Garcias face dropped.

"Em was in a car crash, she's at the hospital"

"Reid work on the crossword, Rossi the Plaque, JJ and Morgan come with me to the hospital." Reid pulled the crossword towards him and started reading the clues. The first letter of each word made up the only across. One way to anticipate (7). Easy Eagerly. He thought. As he got to the end of the hard crossword that the genius had made light work of he looked back at the top line and dropped the paper. ELLEGREENWAY.

"Rossi" he stuttered handing it to the older man.

"This can't end well" he thought out loud.

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"Hey guys boy genius worked out who our victim is" said Garcia. "Elle" she could here the group gasp.

"No,no,no" Muttered Morgan clearly in shock. JJ reached forward and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Elles a fighter" she whispered.

 ** _A/n the idea for this story came to me when I was rewatching old Criminal Minds. I can't remember what the episodes were called but it was the one where Hotch sent Elle home and she got shot. Please review as I enjoy reading them and if you have any ideas feel free to suggest some, i am writing this a bit ahead of posting (i haven't posted the first one as I am writing this) but I will try and get some of your ideas in._**


	3. Chapter 3

"It all makes sense now." Said Morgan as he sped down the freeway to the hospital. "Em is the intruder because she took Elle's spot on the team"

"My plaque makes sense as well, _Friends can be left behind but the best can not be forgotten,_ she was your friend and it seems to the outside that we have forgotten her."Rossi added.

"Keep me updated" Hotch said down the phone before hanging up as Morgan had just pulled into the parking lot. "I'm looking for Emily Prentiss?" He asked at the front desk. The receptionist typed the name into her computer.

"She is currently in surgery but you can wait in the waiting room." Hotch nodded and walked towards the waiting room closely followed by Morgan and JJ.

"I still don't get why" stated Morgan as he paced around the room. "Why now? It's been almost seven years since Elle moved to New York" JJ got up and managed to get him to sit down and calm down by reassuring him that everything would be alright. Meanwhile Hotch mind was racing, none of this would have happened if he had let Elle come back to the team. If Emily or Elle die he won't be able to live with himself.

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"Hello" Garcia answered her cell phone, not recognising the phone number.

"Is this Penelope Garcia"

"Yes"

"This is Amy White, I work at Jacks school and we have you listed as an emergency contact"

"Is Jack ok?" She said quickly gathering up her bag and hurrying into the conference room.

"He didn't show up for school today and Mr Hotchner never called us" Garcia looked at Rossi.

"He never mentioned anything about his son being ill"

"We are aware of your job which is why we rang immediately"

"Ok I will take it from here" Garcia said as she hung up. "Jack never showed up for school" she said to Rossi noting that Henry was in the room as JJ had rang him in sick.

"I'll drive you. You'll be ok Reid?" Said Rossi standing up. Reid nodded and carried on the magic trick he was showing to Henry. Rossi grabbed his coat and ushered her out of the door. "Where first?" He asked her once they were in the car.

"Hotch's" Rossi nodded and drove to their bosses house. Garcia unlocked her phone and rang Hotch. No answer. She tried Morgan and got the same result. She pressed JJs number and watched it ring, she wasn't really expecting an answer.

"Hey Pen what's up?" JJ questioned.

"Is Hotch near you?" She asked.

"Yes let me put you on speaker" they paused "Go Garcia"

"Hotch" she said reluctantly.

"Who did you leave Jack with this morning" continued Rossi.

"What? Why?"

"He never showed up for school" Morgan pulled a seat up for his boss.

"He was with Jessica" He said once he caught his breath. "She was meant to take him to school"

"We are on our way to yours now" said Garcia.

"I will meet you there" he said hanging up. "You two stay here and keep me informed."

"No I'm coming with you JJ will be fine here" Hotch glanced at the younger agent and sighed knowing Morgan could get him there faster.

"Ok then lets go" He said speed walking back through the hospital closely followed by Morgan.

Hotch was right. Morgan got him there the same time as Rossi and Garcia despite the fact that they had further to go. Quickly Hotch jumped out of the car and half ran towards the other car. "Garcia, you stay here Rossi with me and Morgan take the back." They all headed off to their allocated positions. "Go!" Shouted Hotch as he opened the door hearing Morgan do the same. He headed into the living room and found blood. Not enough for them to be dead but it was blood. He carried on up the stairs with Morgan and Rossi behind him. He only had one room left. If it was the same unsub as the one who has Elle there should be some sort of taunt. He opened the door to see Jessica tied up on the floor. Rossi ran to her whilst Morgan and Hotch cleared the rest of the room and the on suite. Finding nothing he sat on the bed next to Jessica whom Rossi had untied. "What happened?" He asked trying to stay calm.

"He told me that if you don't keep it within the team Jack dies" she looked at him "and for every person who goes to the intruder he will punish them both. I don't know what it means" she said breaking down into tears


	4. Chapter 4

"JJ no one will make contact with you or he will kill Jack" Said Hotch.

"I understand I would do the same for Henry. I will explain to Em when she is back from surgery" she paused "what about Henry?"she said down her phone.

"He will stay here with me" Said Garcia.

"Thanks Pen". The rest of the team were at the office working through possible leads and she was at the hospital with her best friend. _This case is stupid_ she thought placing her head in her hands.

"Emily Prentiss" a doctor said as he walked into the room.

"Yes" said JJ standing up.

"She is going to make a full recovery but she has some broken bones and a concussion." JJ breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can I see her?"

"Of course" the doctor led her to Emily's room. JJ sat down next to her bed and looked at her friend. She must have been staring for a while because Emily's eyes slowly began to open.

"JJ" she said her voice still barely audible.

"Em" JJ replied snapping out of her trance.

"Whats happened" she looked around the room "where's the rest of the team?"

"You were in a car crash. The doctors say you will make a full recovery" she paused not wanting to continue.

"What is it"

"The case, the unsub has Elle and Jack and he says that the more people that have contact with you the sooner Jack dies"

"Why me?"

"He thinks your the intruder"

"What? How?"

"We don't know. We're not allowed help from anyone or Elle dies, I die, Pen dies and you die."

"How come only us die not any of the men?" She said.

"I don't know" she started pacing the room. "How can I tell the team that" she thought out loud as the doctor entered "Savannah" she said looking at the doctor ,in all the panic she had forgotten that she was at Bethesda where Savannah was a doctor.

"Hey JJ where's Derek?"

"Working the case" Savannah nodded understandingly. "This is going to sound weird but can you ring him and tell him what I tell you to say?"

"Okay" she said reluctantly. By this point Emily had caught onto her best friends idea. JJ grabbed a piece of paper and began writing. Meanwhile back at the BAU the team were getting frustrated.

"Has anyone got anything?" Said Hotch as he entered the conference room. He got various replies but they all said no in some way. The team leader sat down and put his head in his hands.

 _Somewhere else in DC._

Elle Greenway woke from her medically induced sleep to hear crying. She looked around the dark room that she was stuck in until her eyes fell onto the figure of a young boy. He can't be older than 10 she thought. She made as much noise as her restraints and gag would allow to get his attention. He looked up and stopped crying. _Why does he look so familiar_ she thought. The boy stood up and cautiously walked over to Elle. He reached over and removed her gag. "Can you untie me?" He walked around her and untied her. "What's your name?" She asked him. Her kiddnapper hadn't told her why she was there so she hoped this boy could help.

"Jack" he replied nervously. Then Elle figured it out.

"Jack Hotchner?"

"How do you know my surname?"

"Your Aaron's son. I used to work with him around the time you were born. I'm Elle by the way." The little boy was deep in thought "What is it Jack?"

"The case he's on now the man on the phone said something about the youngest knows who"

"You think I'm the who?"

 ** _A/n thanks for sticking with me. My brain hasn't been able to focus on this story and I am thinking about starting a new story but I'm not sure if it will be too much work. For this story I am going to pretend that Elle never shot the unsub in cold blood in season 2._**


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/n sorry about the wait, again._**

"Just remember what we told you" said JJ passing the piece of paper to Savannah.

"Okay" Savannah left the room and went into the toilets.

"Hey Sav what's up?"

"What's up really! After this morning all you can say is What's up!"

"Calm down, what's wrong?"

"You sexist little bastard, how can you have forgotten this morning already!"

"What happened this morning?"

"You wouldn't stop going on about how strong men are and how weak women are"

"What! I did"

"Men are better than women, women are easy targets compared to men" she cut him off.

"What the f*k are you talking about" Savannah hung up on him hoping he got the message.

 _At the BAU._

"What's wrong?" Asked Reid noticing the confused look on his friends face.

"Apparently we had an argument this morning but I swear we didn't"

"Did she say what this argument was about?"

"Me being sexist"

"But you would never be sexist" said Garcia.

"What exactly did she say?" Asked Reid, an idea forming in the young geniuses mind. Morgan quoted their short conversation to him. Reid smiled then started chuckling. "I did not think you were this stupid"

"What?" Said Morgan looking confused at Garcia who was shrugging.

"'Women are easy targets compared to men' she's talking about this case" Morgan looked more confused "Its a message from JJ, Savannah works at the hospital where Em is remember"

"Oh yeah" he paused "I still don't get it"

"Only the women got death threats not any of us"

"I get it"

"You get what?" Asked Hotch entering the room.

"JJ gave Savannah a coded message to give to us" answered Garcia.

"Ok what did she say?" He asked Reid.

"She made up an argument about Morgan being sexist towards her, and she told us that only the women got death threats not us."

"Oh I get it" said Hotch.

 _Somewhere in DC_

"Try and get some sleep" said Elle to the boy whose head was on her lap. She stroked his hair until he drifted off then she started to think. _It sounds like some sort of riddle, What time is it?, when was the last time I ate? When was the last time he ate?_ Then she fell into a light sleep only to be woken by the door to their dark room being opened. Protectively, she placed a hand on Jacks side and waited for their kidnapper to speak.

"Don't worry I won't hurt you" said a soft voice. "I just want them to notice you, after all you saved my life..."

 ** _A/n sorry it's quite short I thought that would be a good place to end it and I want to put this chapter up before I go to sleep (i am struggling to keep awake right now) I have a Criminal Minds one (possibly two) shot coming soon that is based off of a prompt so look out for that._**


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/n the case mentioned is one that I have made up as I couldn't find a case that Elle worked that fits what I wanted._**

As Elle's eyes adjusted to the darkness she studied her captors face. _Who are you_ she thought. Then it clicked she's that girl from the case in Alexandria, the unsub who kidnapped the girl so she could take over his 'killing business'. "Hope?" She remembered the name that had been plastered over tv screens for weeks.

"I knew you would remember me, today is the ten year anniversary from when we first met" said the innocent looking 23 year old. "I remembered you" she placed a plate and two bottles in front of the Ex agent and left the room.

 _At Quantico_

"Sir I did some things and I found something really weird"

"What did you do Garcia?" Replied Hotch. Garcia sat down in front of the team and showed them the debriefing sheet she had discovered.

"You told me to look into what Elle has been doing and I found this"

"Is that an undercover debrief sheet?" Questioned Rossi.

"Yes, this is all they have on this case so the rest is on paper"

"What agency?" Asked Hotch

"CIA"

 _Back to Elle_

"Jack buddy" she said gently shaking the young boy.

"Daddy?" He asked, his voice filled with sleep.

"No it's Elle remember" the boy slowly sat up and looked at her

"Oh yeah" then he saw the food and drinks on the floor "can I have some" he asked the hunger hitting him.

"Of course" Elle passed him a ham sandwich and one of the bottles of water.

"Aren't you going to have anything?" Jack asked curiously when he noticed his new friend wasn't eating anything.

"Not at the minute" but she did pick up her bottle of water and have a few sips just to relax the boy. "So how old are you now?" She asked to break the silence.

"11, why"

"Just wondering" she was actually trying to work out how their captor had known how to get to Hotch."I bet your dad adores you"

"Yes, I adore him too, he's my hero" that made Elle smile.

"Can you remember how you got here?" She asked not wanting to overwhelm the boy.

"I got out of Jess' car and was walking towards school when I heard a van door open and then everything went black." He paused then looked into Elle's eyes "Are we gonna die?" He asked.

"No your dad and the team will save us"

 _At the hospital_

"How are you feeling Emily?" Asked Savannah as she checked her over.

"Apart from hating being stuck here, fine" The doctor glanced at JJ who was smiling.

"How did it go with Morgan?" Asked JJ.

"Honestly, I don't think he got it but hopefully he will tell someone who does" JJ nodded and Savannah turned to leave when she felt her phone go off in her pocket. She looked at the message from Morgan before passing her phone to JJ who smirked.

 _'Reid told me to apologise, I would rather do it in person but this case is dragging on'_

"I knew Reid would understand the message"

 _Elsewhere in DC_

"I told them no contact!" Hope Plimmer came running down the stairs to the dark basement, she turned to Elle. "I'm sorry I have too or they won't believe me anymore" she picked up a large jar of red and opened it. "Jack I need you to lay still for me or you will die" Jack looked at Elle for reassurance.

"It's okay I'm right here" He stood up and moved to where Hope was gesturing and layer down. Hope rolled up his top and stuck her finger in the jar and pulled out blood.

"I'm sorry if this is cold" she ran her finger over his stomach leaving a trail of blood next she covered the floor on either side with blood before drenching a cloth in the blood and handing it to Elle. "Pretend to put pressure on the wound" she pulled a gun from her waist band and aimed it at Jack. "Or I shoot" Elle lept to the boys side and put the cloth on top of his stomach.

"Close your eyes" she whispered. Elle then heard a Polaroid camera flash.

 ** _A/n please review as it makes me want to write more and I appreciate any ideas you have for this story or other stories._**


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